Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, April 28, 2026. In the middle is the Democratic Senator from Washington, Patty Murray, and on the right is the Democratic Senator from Hawaii, Brian Schatz. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to make changes to a Senate-passed bill that would end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, a move that will further delay funding and extend the standoff that began in mid-February.
The delay could again disrupt pay for employees at the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, both of which are part of DHS. In March, TSA officers encountered huge traffic jams in airline security lines went without pay for weeks until the administration moved to reprogram the funds.
Johnson, R-La., has chosen not to negotiate possible changes to the funding bill with Senate Democrats that will be needed to advance it if the House makes changes.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the bill stuck in the House “does not require any adjustments.”
“They’re just stuck. So they come up with the idea, ‘We need some technical changes,'” he said. “Holding up national security because of technical changes? That’s absurd. You can pass the law now.”
Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, said in a brief interview that she was “stunned” by Johnson’s comments.
She added during the press conference that she had “no idea what technical changes to expect.”
The House did not vote on DHS funding
The Senate unanimously passed a bill to fund the enormous majority of the Department of Homeland Security End of March and again Beginning of April. Johnson did not submit it to the House of Representatives for a vote, thereby preventing it from becoming law.
The legislation does not provide funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Protection, a compromise negotiated after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach agreement on guardrails for immigration control measures.
republican plan to provide They hope to pass more than $70 billion in additional spending for ICE and Border Patrol in a bipartisan budget reconciliation bill in the coming weeks.
Johnson said last week he believes The “order matters” of when each of the two bills will take effect. But time is running out for tens of thousands of federal workers as they find themselves on the verge of losing their paychecks.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement that the executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month to pay all DHS employees can only go so far despite the funding shortfall.
“The money will dry up if I continue on this path in the first week of May,” Mullin said. “My payroll through DHS is a little over $1.6 billion every two weeks, so the money is going away extremely quickly, and once that happens, there is no emergency relief after that.”
“We have to fund these agencies”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is working with House GOP leaders to “massage” the DHS funding bill in hopes it will become law soon.
“I’m very compassionate,” he said. “We spoke last night and he has to overcome his challenges there. We have to overcome our challenges here. But one way or another we have to fund these agencies.”
The disagreement between House Republicans and their Republican colleagues in the Senate over when to fund DHS is just one of several challenges party leaders are trying to address this week.
“We’re trying as best we can to coordinate strategy with the House. But you know, it’s a unique situation. We have very narrow margins and people with really strong opinions,” Thune said. “So I think obviously it’s going to take strong involvement from the White House to resolve some of these things. But we’re trying as best we can to make sure that we get all of these issues across the finish line and ultimately to the president’s desk.”
Republican leaders will need support from their own members and at least some Democrats to pass key legislation, including the DHS funding bill, for Trump.
But as of midday Tuesday, it didn’t appear they had engaged key negotiators on possible changes to the Senate-passed spending bill.
Break next week
Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, chairwoman of the subcommittee responsible for funding DHS, said she didn’t know what changes House GOP leaders wanted to make.
“I’m not aware of it. I just know we have to find a way forward,” she said. “And no one should be leaving here or certainly flying on (congressional delegation trips) until we do.”
Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to leave for a week-long recess on Thursday.
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, ranking member of the DHS funding panel, said House Republicans have not reached out to him or his staff.
“I don’t know why he’s making this more complicated than it needs to be,” he said. “Our bill, which passed the Senate by 100 votes to zero, would easily pass the House.”
